Pure on the welcome Rolex from 1w Team: “I don’t like wearing watches. I’m glad it’s a gift of sorts.”

[How did it happen that Tundra so quickly and suddenly disbanded its top roster and transferred it to 1w?] We found out after ESL One Birmingham 2026 that we wouldn’t have an organization anymore. Other people in the organization obviously knew about this, but we as a team found out about it quite late. We knew there were some issues. But when we found out that it was final—that, essentially, we were being sold, or that we’d literally be sitting there without a salary and playing at our own expense... Maybe we’d only have enough money to cover boot camp out of our own funds, which we’d have on the bench there.

[And how did Tundra’s management explain this to you? There must have been some kind of conversation?] To be honest, there wasn’t a specific conversation with me. We were simply informed that we no longer had a team. We need to look for a new organization, and we have a list of potential candidates—organizations that we’ve started reaching out to. The players started reaching out, and so did our—how should I describe the position?—CEO, manager. So we basically just started finding out who was willing to buy us, essentially.

[Did anyone—including the staff—consider leaving to join another organization individually? Did you discuss this among yourselves?] When we discussed it, we asked if we could move as a whole team, because, in principle, we were satisfied with everything. We had our own manager, as well as a CEO—the head manager—and, basically, everything suited us just fine. [Did the media team stay entirely with Tundra?] As far as I understand, the media team stayed entirely with Tundra—it was specifically the media team that didn’t make the move. We didn’t really have any discussions about replacing anyone. We were one team, and since we were happy with everything, that’s how we made the move.

[So how did you get to know 1w? Was there a meeting, or did they give you Rolex watches?] It turns out we first met at a media day. We had a very long media day—probably the longest media day I’ve ever had. [Was that the one with those super-trendy photo shoots?] That’s right, yes. Both the Rolex event and the photo shoots—we were shooting for a very long time. We literally arrived at 8 a.m. and left at midnight. We got to know the media team, of course, and had a fantastic day—it felt like it lasted 30 hours. And yes, they gave us a Rolex.

[And how was the gift presented?] Listen, what kind of presentation could there be? Something like, “Welcome.” [What about the watch? Is it tucked away in a safe, or are you going to wear it?] I’m not a fan of watches. I don’t like wearing watches. I’m pleased to have received such a gift. But I can’t quite picture myself wearing one just yet. Maybe I haven’t quite grown into it yet.

[Tundra hasn’t officially disclosed the buyout amount anywhere. Can you give us a rough idea of the figures?] I don’t think I can disclose that. I didn’t ask about it, but I don’t think I can. [Has your salary increased at 1w compared to Tundra?] It’s increased quite a bit. [By a factor of several times, or just a little?] No, just a little. Just a little, yeah.